Landslide
by Lynnlee22
Summary: Phyllis/Billy Continuation of One Call-Phyllis is haunted by her past.
1. Chapter 1

"Mmmm…Good morning." Billy smiled as he pulled her body closer to him and nuzzled into her neck. He leaned over, his eyes staring into hers as he gently brushed the hair away from her face, "You're awake awful early. You sleep okay?"

"I don't recall us getting much sleep," she giggled, turning over to face him as she artfully avoided the question.

His eyebrows shot up as he brought his hands to his chest in mock innocence. "Ms. Summers," he whispered, as he leaned in for a quick kiss, "I can't imagine what you're implying." For a moment he simply lay there, relishing the feeling of having her in his arms.

It had been nearly four days since it happened, four days since the most terrifying moment of his life. He'd never be able to forget the terror that went through him as he sank to his knees in front of that cabin, the hopelessness that overtook him as he tried to comprehend the thought of a life without out, and the complete and total joy that overwhelmed him when he realized he'd…they'd…been given a second chance. From that moment forward, he'd made a promise—not another second would be taken for granted. They would make the most of every single day, every single hour, every single minute—and that's precisely what they'd been doing.

"You know…" He smiled as he saw the exaggerated pout form on her face. "As much as I hate to do this…I really do…I think we might be approaching an inevitable practicality of life here."

"Practicality has never really been my thing," she huffed, snuggling in closer to him again, "We could just stay here…"

"And we'll be back here tonight," he whispered, "but we both have jobs and if we don't get back to them soon, I'm afraid they're gonna send the police out for a well check."

"Let them," she smiled, "I think we'd check out."

He couldn't keep smile from spreading across his face as he stared at her. Being with her these last few days had reminded him of just how much he'd missed her. It wasn't that he'd ever forgotten, but the little things about being near her—about being close to her—it made him feel alive in a way he hadn't felt in so long. "How about a compromise?"

Phyllis looked up at him, her eyes narrowing, "I'm listening…"

"Join me in the shower." He stood, pulling at the sheet that was wrapped around her bare body.

She smiled. "You do make a very attractive offer," she cooed, giggling as he lifted her into his arms and walked from the room.

* * *

She pulled the robe around her, carefully drying her face with a towel as she sat down in front of the mirror. The harsh bathroom lighting made the dark circles under her eyes even more visible. With a sigh, she reached into the drawer, dabbing the makeup on furiously and checking the results as she leaned in closer. It wasn't perfect, but hopefully it wouldn't be obvious enough to draw Billy's attention. She didn't want him worrying about her.

His arms had always been her safe place, no matter the circumstances. In the past, she had come to him and found peace in his embrace, but now—nothing seemed to work. Each night the images seemed more vivid, the sounds seemed closer, the feelings seemed a bit more real. She'd try to close her eyes, to count, to mentally relax each part of her body—every trick she'd ever read or heard, but sleep continued to allude her. Exhausted she'd curl closer to him, always finding his arms willing to wrap her, to hold her tight. Many times he'd ask if she was okay and she'd lie, saying she was cold, or that she missed his touch, or something else. She never told him the truth. She never told him she couldn't close her eyes without seeing Marco's face. She never told him she heard his voice in the silence of the still night. She never admitted to hearing the sound of the gunshot in her head over and over and over again until she simply wanted to scream. She never told him any of that.

* * *

Billy watched her in silence as she pushed the forkful of eggs back and forth across the plate. She glanced up, catching his eyes on her.

"What?" she said softly, forcing a slight smile.

"Well, I mean…I know I'm not a gourmet chef, but I didn't think they were that bad."

Phyllis glanced down at the plate, momentarily confused by his comment. "Oh—the eggs, no…" She shook her head, and softened her eyes as she looked up at him. "The eggs are great. This is really sweet, but you didn't have to make breakfast. I'm not a big breakfast eater—you know that…and I guess I'm just not really hungry. That's all. I hate that you went through all this trouble."

"No trouble." Billy stood, grabbing the plate away from her and pressing a quick kiss to her cheek before raking the remains into the disposal, "But I'm afraid I do need to be getting out of here. Can I give you a ride to the office?"

"That sounds nice." She stood. "Let me just grab my bag from upstairs."

She headed up the stairs, pausing for a moment to catch a reflection in the mirror. From the outside, everything appeared normal. No one would be the wiser. Her hair was done, her makeup perfected, her outfit coordinated—she was a walking picture of stability. Inside though—inside she was screaming. Her chest ached as she forced a deep breath into her lungs. The face that stared back at her look pinched and nervous, not at all like the confident, take no prisoner's woman she liked to present. Forcing her shoulders back, she stared down her reflection. Maybe this would help, she thought silently. Maybe getting back to work, finding her niche, being productive and successful with something she enjoyed would help her feel more like herself. Maybe…

* * *

"Phyllis!"

The sound of Lauren's voice made her jump and only then did she feel the searing pain. She looked down at the hot coffee pouring down overtop the coffee mug and onto her hand.

"Oh, God," she hissed, pushing the mug further on the counter and turning on the water in the sink.

"Are you alright?" Lauren asked with grave concern, rushing over to her and staring at her hand. "What on earth happened?"

"I don't know," she muttered, the answer one of the more honest things she'd said in days. "I think I was just daydreaming and I kind of got lost in a thought."

"Sweetie…it's better to daydream when you're on the computer or something, not when you're pouring hot coffee." She sighed as she looked down at Phyllis' hand. "How's your hand—are the burns serious? Maybe we should take you to the hospital?"

"No, that's silly…I don't need to.." She flexed her fingers, wincing at the pain of the skin stretching.

"That's it," Lauren announced with defiance. "I'm gonna call Billy and let him come down here."

"No!"

Lauren looked at her in surprise. "Ooookay," she said slowly, holding her hands up in surrender. "I won't call Billy, but you need to tell me why."

She shook her head. "It's just..this is his first day back and I don't want him to think this is how it's gonna be. He worries so much as it is and this really isn't serious. I'm sure they'll just give me something to help the tissue heal or something like that. If you could drive me, it would make things a lot less complicated."

"I get it," Lauren sighed. "But let me let you in on a little secret," she whispered, "It' s kind of nice to have someone worrying about you."


	2. Chapter 2

Lauren walked quickly up to the front desk. "Hi," she said quickly. Her tone was friendly but assertive, "Can you tell me if Dr. Rayburn is on call today?"

"You know…" Phyllis stepped forward to interrupt. "If he's…"

"I'm sorry. Dr. Rayburn isn't in today." The nurse looked almost apologetic as she said the words. "Dr. Felder's on call today."

"I don't know anything about him," Lauren muttered, casting a weary glance towards Phyllis.

"It's a burn Lauren. Any med student would be able to handle it and what's more it's on my hand, not my face." She looked up at the nurse and smiled. "That'll be just fine," she smiled. "I just somehow managed to douse my hand with hot coffee this morning."

The nurse winced as she reached down for a clipboard and forms. "If you'll just fill these out and take a seat over there, I'll get you in a room as quickly as possible."

* * *

Phyllis glanced down at her watch. She'd been sitting in the waiting room for nearly five hours. She'd finally convinced Lauren to go back to the office two hours ago, assuring her she'd be fine and that she'd call her if she needed her.

"Phyllis Summers?"

She sighed in relief as she finally stood and stepped into the room. The exam itself was fairly painless and after a few uncomfortable moments, her hand was covered in salve, wrapped and bandaged.

"Is there anything else you need?" the doctor asked politely.

"Actually," She stopped herself, hesitating…. "You know..nevermind."

"Ms. Summers." Dr. Felder reached out, touching her shoulder gently, "You've been waiting here all day. If there's anything else you'd like to discuss, I'd be more than happy to give you a few extra minutes of my time."

Phyllis tilted her head a little. "Well, it's just…I haven't been sleeping very well." She watched as the doctor sat back down on the small stool in front of her. His pen busily scribbled on the clipboard in front of him.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked, glancing up at her.

"Not too long," she said, "Maybe a few weeks." Ok—so that was a lie. She knew exactly how long it had been going on. 4 days. It had been four days since the nightmare started. 4 days since that man crawled back into her head and refused to crawl out.

"Any idea what brought this on?"

"No…none." Another lie. She knew exactly what brought this on…she knew exactly why she couldn't close her eyes at night…exactly why her entire body tensed up when the room got still and the noises stopped. She knew exactly why she hated being alone, why she felt helpless and terrified.

"Well," he said, looked at her once more, "Normally, I'd advise you to try some natural remedies first, but given the injury and the fact that a mild sedative might actually serve as a bit of a pain reliever as well, I'm going to go ahead and prescribe a short course of sleeping aides for you."

Phyllis smiled. "That sounds great," she sighed. "It'll be so nice to actually get a decent night's rest again."

He nodded, "Now I do need to warn you, these medications can have some side effects, so heed the warnings on the bottle and make sure you take them exactly as directed."

"I will," she said quickly. "I absolutely will."

* * *

Billy got out of the car quickly, nearly jogging to the front door. "Phyllis!" He called her name out before he got the door fully opened, the breath leaving his body in relief as he saw her sitting on the couch.

She stood and walked to him. "What?" she said in confusion. "What's the matter?"

He stepped back, his eyes wide in amazement. Reaching for her arm, he gently held it up, "What?" He shook his head as he pulled her close to him and pressed his lips to her temple. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I didn't want to worry you," she whispered, "which I now realize didn't actually work. I wasn't thinking that Lauren would probably go back to the office and tell you about it. Didn't she tell you I was okay though?"

"She told me she left you at the hospital." He took her unbandaged hand gently and led her over to the sofa, sitting down beside her and pulling her into his arms. "So, she said you spilled coffee on your hand?"

"Yeah," she sighed, still baffled as to how she'd managed that, "I was just lost in my thoughts or something and managed to pour it all over my hand." She felt his chest shake a bit and she jabbed him in the ribs with her good hand. "That's not funny," she hissed, smiling up at him.

"I'm not laughing at you," he whispered, "I'm just trying to figure out what you could have been thinking about that had you so distracted…" He let his voice trail off as he leaned down closer to her, brushing his lips lightly against her.

"Well," she purred, "Jack has hired this really cute new guy in the mail room and he had on these tight khaki pants." She giggled as she saw the look on his face and she snuggled tight against his chest. "you know I'm always thinking about you," she whispered, feeling a pang of guilt as the words left her lips.

Billy would do everything he could to help her through this and she knew it, but he shouldn't always have to help her. She was tired of always being the heavy, of always being the one that needed to have her hand held. She wanted to feel like they were equals. It had taken them a long time to find this happiness and they deserved it—deserved to enjoy it, not to be saddled with memories and nightmares of a horror that should be long buried. She let her eyes close as she listened to the sound of his beating heart. Her mind drifted to the bottle that now lay inside her purse. Maybe tonight her dreams really would be only of him.


	3. Chapter 3

_For the first time in so long, she actually felt relaxed. It was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she sighed as she felt the cool linen sheets against her skin. A smile crept across her face as she felt a warm hand snake around her waist while another toyed with the strap of her camisole. "Billy," she whispered, "I thought you said you were tired."_

 _"It's not Billy."_

She jolted upright, her entire body trembling, her camisole drenched with sweat. Billy's arms wrapped around her quickly as she clawed away from him, still caught in the trauma of the nightmare.

"Hey, Hey," he whispered, reaching out hesitantly again, "It's okay…shhhh..It's okay, Phyllis. It's me. Everything's okay."

"A dream," she muttered, swallowing hard and forcing breath into her lungs. "A dream."

"I'll get you some water," he said softly, standing up from the bed and stepping into the bathroom.

Phyllis ran her hands across her face. If this was what sleep brought, perhaps it had been largely overrated. She sighed and smiled weakly as she took the glass from Billy's outstretched hand, sipping the water slowly and leaning back against his chest as his hands softly rubbed her shoulders.

"I'm okay," she whispered, seeing the deep lines prominently displayed on his forehead. "You don't need to worry about me."

Billy leaned down, kissing her neck. "Sorry," he whispered, "never gonna happen. I'm always gonna worry about you." His eyes stared into hers. "You wanna tell me what the dream was about?"

She stilled, the tension settling into her body almost immediately. "I don't really remember…it was just one of those dreams..you know..more of a feeling that anything specific."

"You were screaming 'No!'" he said, his voice tinged in concern. "And you were thrashing..it was like you were trying to get away from something."

"Who knows?" She handed him the glass, smiling at him, "That's the good thing about nightmares I guess. You wake up and it's like they didn't happen."

"I don't know, Phyllis. It just seemed like…"

She placed her fingertips on his lips, her eyes staring deep into his. "It was nothing, honestly. I don't want to waste anymore time thinking about it. Isn't that what we said? Isn't that what we promised? No more wasted time?"

He nodded. "We did," he said softly, his hands running through her soft hair, "We did say that."

"Alright then." She slid down beneath the covers, snuggling close to him again. "Let's not waste tonight."

* * *

Billy moved as quietly as possible throughout the room, careful not to disturb her. He grabbed his coat from the closet and eased over towards her side of the bed. The sight of her sleeping always made him smile. He loved her fire and her zest for life, but the sight of her still and calm, so relaxed and happy took his breath away. Gently he leaned down, barely brushing his lips against her forehead before walking from the room.

Phyllis waited to hear the front door close before she opened her eyes. Her head throbbed—a mix of exhaustion and stress. It took everything in her to throw her legs off the side of the bed and force herself to stand. In this state, she'd be useless at the office. She'd tell Lauren she had phone calls and was working from home. At least that would buy her some time. That's what she needed—time…and sleep.

She walked over across the room, picking up her purse from the dresser. The small orange vile still held more than enough pills, she reasoned and the doctor had indicated they'd be helpful with the pain in her hand. The one she'd taken last night had clearly not been enough for restful sleep. She'd have all morning this morning. She poured three small, white pills into her hand and stepped into the bathroom.

* * *

"Billy, Hey…I'm glad I caught you."

Billy turned around, smiling politely at Lauren who rushed up behind him. "Hey Lauren."

"I know you've probably got a busy day," she said quickly, "but I just wanted to check on Phyllis. I didn't get a chance to talk to her again last night. How's her hand?"

"She seems okay. You know Phyllis though—she's going to put on that game face no matter what."

Lauren nodded. "I know. She called me a little bit ago to let me know she had some phone calls and things and she'd be working from home today. I kind of got the impression maybe she needed some time."

Billy's eyes narrowed. "Hmm..she didn't mention that but, to be honest, I'm not sure she slept very well last night, so she might just not feel up to the whole Abbott dog and pony show today." He smiled at Lauren's amusement. "It's okay to laugh, you know."

"I know…it's just. There your family and family is…."

"Given not chosen," Billy sighed.

"That's a nice way of putting it," she grinned. "I'm stealing that." Lauren paused. "How's that going by the way…things with your family? Is it getting any better?"

"Day by day….I think my sisters are getting used to the idea. Jack is…well, he's Jack and he's never going to be thrilled by it, but we're civil and he cares about Phyllis whether he'll admit it or not, so he's not going to do anything to intentionally hurt her. That's the most important thing to me, so I guess in that regard, we're good." Billy shrugged.

Lauren nodded. "Well, I really hope things work out. For what it's worth, I've never seen Phyllis as happy as she is with you."

Billy smiled. "It's worth a lot," he said softly, "More than you know."

* * *

"Oh." Jack turned quickly.

"Did you need something, Jack?" Billy looked up from behind Phyllis' desk.

"I was looking for Phyllis," Jack said curtly, "but I guess she's not in her office."

"Yeah, she's uh…she's not coming in today. She's working from home." Billy paused for a moment, the look on Jack's face showing his extreme displeasure. "Is something wrong, Jack?"

"What do you mean she's working from home? We've got a huge presentation with an investor this afternoon. Ravi's out of the country visiting his family and she's the only person that understands the technology side of this."

"She cleared it with Lauren, Jack. I don't know what to tell you."

"Lauren doesn't have anything to do with this. This was a Jabot issue. She doesn't work exclusively for Fenmore's you know. This is a joint venture. Damn it!" Jack slammed his hand against the door frame. "So help me Billy, if you talked her into sabotaging this."

"Jack…Jack.." He held up his hands to stop the onslaught of accusations. "You're getting way ahead of yourself here. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. Lauren said Phyllis is working from home. I'm sure it's just a scheduling mix up or it slipped her mind. We'll just call her and I'm sure she'll rush right over here and get everything set, alright?"

Jack nodded. "Fine. Just call her." He gestured to the phone on her desk. "Call her!"

Billy picked up the phone and dialed the numbers quickly.

* * *

The display on the phone lit up, the cheerful tone echoing throughout the room. The empty glass of wine sat beside it on the coffee table. Phyllis shifted slightly the noise barely registering as she turned over on the couch and drifted back into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

He pulled the car to a stop in the driveway, his heart sinking as his eyes fell on her car still sitting-unmoved. Part of him had hoped she wasn't here, that perhaps she'd left to run errands and had forgotten her phone—that this could all be written off to her being forgetful and tired, but the nagging feeling in his gut wouldn't go away. Jack was furious, far more worried about his precious meeting than he was about why Phyllis wasn't there.

Judging by his reaction, one would assume Phyllis often missed deadlines, ditched meetings, and let phone calls go unanswered, but that wasn't the case at all. This was completely out of character for her. Billy took a breath as he pushed open the door, a heavy sigh immediately escaping his lips as he saw her stretched out on the couch.

"Phyllis," he breathed, stepping over towards the side of the couch and warily eyeing the glass of wine that sat overturned on the floor. "Hey." His hand brushed her face and he called her name a bit louder when he received no response. "Phyllis." His heart began to race as he tried in vain to rouse her. Grabbing her shoulders, he gently shook her, his voice cracking with emotion as her eyes finally fluttered open. "Thank God."

She blinked swiftly, her eyes darting around the room for a moment, as if she was trying to process exactly where she was and what was happening. "Billy," she said slowly, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"Forget about that for a minute." He looked at her, worry still evident on his face. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be alright?"

Billy glanced behind him, reaching for the phone that lay nearby on the coffee table. The screen flashed four missed calls and he held it out in front of him. "When I got here, I called your name and you didn't even flinch. I walked over here and touched you and you didn't respond. I called you from the office and you didn't hear your phone…the phone that was right here next to you."

She closed her eyes slowly, the memory of the three small pills lingering in her mind. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I guess I was just more tired than I realized." She reached up, covering his hand with hers as she felt him lightly stroke her hair.

He shook his head. "It's alright," he whispered, pressing his lips softly against her cheek. "I'm just glad you're okay." He sighed, pulling away slightly. "Jack on the other hand, may need your head on a platter."

"Jack? What's wrong with him?"

"Apparently there was some big meeting or something that you were supposed…"

"Oh my God," her hand flew to her mouth and she jumped to her feet, immediately losing her footing and swaying back towards the sofa.

Billy's arms were around her in seconds. She sat still a moment, catching her breath and closing her eyes before she opened them slowly to find his gaze heavy on hers.

"Alright," he said softly, "Something is going on here and you need to tell me what it is."

* * *

He shook his head as he listened to her.

"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you," she said quietly. "It just wasn't a big deal. It was one little pill and the doctor said it was just a mild sedative to help with the pain in my hand. I guess I just didn't realize how quickly it would work and…" She allowed her voice to trail off.

"And the wine," he said, sighing a bit.

"I know," she began. "I shouldn't have…"

"Shh…" He flashed her a smile, softly palming her face. "I know you weren't thinking….I just…You've got to be more careful. If anything ever happened to you, I…." The thought made him shudder and he looked up at her with genuine eyes, "Please," he whispered, "Just please be careful."

Phyllis leaned in closer, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "I promise I will. I'm sorry for being so careless and stupid."

She smiled as she felt his fingertips rest on her lips. "You aren't stupid," he said quietly, "I'm the only one that has done anything stupid around here…and that's not realizing that you needed my help. I should have seen that your hand was bothering you and I should never have gone in to the office today."

"No, Billy. That's not necessary. I don't want to…"

"Save your breath," he said with a smile, standing and grabbing her phone. "I'm going to call Jack and tell him to reschedule his meeting and then I'm calling Victoria and I'm telling her I'll be taking the rest of the day off."

"You don't need to do that," she sighed, not able to keep the smile off her face. "I don't want to be such a problem."

He stepped back over to her, leaning down to kiss her quickly as the phone rang. "You're the best problem I've ever had."

* * *

"No! No! Please!" She gripped his arm hard, jerking the gun down towards the floor, the sound of the shot rang out through the room and pain seared through her body.

"Phyllis!"

Her eyes flew open and she felt Billy's arms wrapping around her. Her chest heaved up and down with labored breaths and she hissed as she realized the source of the pain. Her bandaged hand gripped the edge of the mattress hard, the tender skin pulling and paining.

"It's okay," he said softly, his hands rubbing circles on her back as she finally relented and lay back against him. "Let me see."

She held out her hand, grimacing a bit as Billy gently eased her fingers open. "It's alright," she said through clenched teeth. "It'll be fine."

"Can I get you anything?" he asked.

Her heart still pounded in her chest, the sound of the shot still echoing through her mind. "If it's not too much trouble," she whispered, "would you mind making some tea?"

He smiled softly at her. "No trouble at all."

She forced a small smile as she watched him stand and move quickly from the room. When she heard the sound of the water running in the kitchen, she eased out of the bed, walking over to the dresser and quickly finding her purse. The bottle still lay in her purse—exactly where she'd left it. Two pills poured into her hand and shoved the bottle back into the bag and headed into the bathroom.

For a moment she paused, catching her reflection in the mirror. Why not tell Billy? Why not wait until he came back to take the pills? She wasn't sure. She had no answers. Quickly, she palmed the water into her mouth and swallowed the pills.

* * *

"I made chamomile," Billy said quietly as he walked back into the room with two steaming mugs, "I hope that's alri…" He stopped, sighing as he looked at her. Quietly he placed the two mugs of tea on the bedside table and eased into bed next to her. He'd waste his time and his tea as long as it meant she was happy and safe. That's all that ever really mattered to him.

His lips brushed her forehead as he felt her snuggle into his embrace. When she was in her arms, he knew all was right with the world.


	5. Chapter 5

She opened her eyes slowly, the bright light from the sun already streaming into the room. "Billy?" she called out softly, groaning a bit as she struggled to sit up. Her head throbbed with a dull ache and she still felt completely exhausted even as she looked at the clock on the bedside table and realized she'd already overslept by nearly a half hour.

Quickly, she grabbed her robe and headed into the bathroom, following the sound of Billy's early morning humming.

"Hey." His face brightened even more as he saw her enter the room and she couldn't help but smile a little herself as his arms wrapped around her. His lips pressed gently against her forehead, his breath warm as he whispered against her ear, "I already called the office and told them we'd be a little late, so don't worry about that.

She sighed a bit, pulling back. "You didn't have to do that, Billy. You could have just woke me up. I can't keep continually slacking off."

"You're not," he said softly. "You're taking a little bit of time to catch your breath. There's nothing wrong with that and if anyone has anything to say about it, you tell them to talk to me." He grinned as he saw the slight smile on her face.

"It's sweet that you want to protect me," she said softly, "but it's okay, really. I'm okay." Phyllis looked deep into his eyes as she said the words, needing him to believe it, but also needing to hear herself say it—hoping that maybe if she said it with enough conviction, it might actually be true.

* * *

Phyllis brought her hand to her head. She'd been staring at the same screen on her computer for over an hour. The numbers seemed to move and change of their own volition. What would normally take mere seconds and come as completely second nature was now requiring every ounce of her concentration—not that she could concentrate at all because of the throbbing headache that continued to plague her.

She let her head fall to her arm, resting on the desktop for a moment.

"Phyllis?"

The air grew still, her heart immediately beginning to pound in her chest. There was nowhere to go. She gripped the side of her desk with one hand, using the other to gingerly turn her chair to face the open doorway. Her eyes full of fear and trepidation as she stared at the source of the voice.

Jack stepped inside the office, his face immediately changing. She was white, as if the blood had been drained from her body. "Phyllis, you okay?" He stepped closer to the desk and stopped short as she stood quickly, backing towards the back wall like a cornered animal.

Holding his hands out in front of him, he spoke again, "Phyllis, Hey—what's going on?"

She closed her eyes for a moment, forcing a deep breath into her body. Marco was dead. He was dead and she knew it. She'd been there when he'd been shot. She'd heard it. She'd seen the body. This was Jack. It was. She opened her eyes slowly again, forcing herself to say the words. "Jack?"

"Yeah." His eyes were fixed on hers, whatever matter he'd stopped by to discuss now a clear memory. "Phyllis, what's going on? You're scaring me here."

"I'm sorry." The words came out in a hurried breath as she raked her hands through her hair. "I'm just…I haven't been sleeping very well and I think I'm just exhausted. That's all. I'm on edge and I'm jumpy. Basically I'm a basket case."

He nodded. "I can see that." Pausing for a moment, he glanced around the room. "Look, I know yesterday I was kind of an ass about the meeting. I don't know what Billy told you, but if you need some time to or something…you know you can take it. Don't feel like you have to push yourself."

"No. No…I'm okay. I am. I need to get back in the swing of things and then I'm sure I'll feel better." She could see the doubt on his face. "Honestly, Jack. I'm fine, but I appreciate the offer. So, uh…what did you need to talk to me about?"

"What?" Jack looked at her, his expression blank.

"You stopped by my office for a reason, right? What was it?"

"Oh. Right. Right. The meeting—I rescheduled it for next week. I was just going to clear it with your calendar, but I'll send you an e-mail invite, that way you can just add it to your calendar." He hesitated a moment as he walked towards the door. "You're sure you're alright?"

"Perfectly fine," she said quickly, swallowing hard.

She waited until she saw him disappear down the hall before allowing her body to react. A wave of nausea welled up inside her and she felt as if she might be sick. She grabbed the trashcan, her entire body heaving as she gripped it with her good hand. Her breathing finally calmed and she opened the bottom desk drawer, reaching for the box of tissues she hoped would still be there.

As she reached for the box, her eyes fell on the bottle. It was Billy's favorite scotch. She'd forgotten all about it. It was something she'd bought for him a month or so ago—it was meant to be a surprise after he'd returned from a trip, but she'd forgotten to bring it home that night and, apparently every night since.

Scotch had never been her drink of choice but today, it would certainly have to do. She rummaged through the desk drawer, finding a coffee mug and giving it a cursory wipe of the inside. Pouring a generous amount inside, she downed the contents in a single gulp. She could feel the burn as it traveled through her body—the pain before the numbness would set it.

"Phyllis, I…"

Phyllis grabbed the bottle, jerking it underneath the desktop as Jack walked in. "Yeah?" she said as nonchalantly as she could. "What do you need?"

Jack stepped towards the desk, leaning in as he showed her the file in his hand. "These projections here…do you think you could incorporate…" He stopped. "What's that smell?"

"What?"

"It smells like liquor or.." He stopped, his eyes falling on the bottle of scotch that now sat by her chair. "I guess that answers that."

"Come on Jack," she said with a smile. "It's not like we never had a little afternoon shot when we were working together. It's no big deal."

Jack nodded. "Right. It's not a big deal when you're drinking to relax or when you're drinking to celebrate, but when you're drinking to deal with whatever it is you're trying to deal with, it can be a very big deal….trust me."

She pushed away from the desk, putting distance between them. "Look, I appreciate the words of concern, Jack, but not everyone needs a 12 step program just because you do." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them and she closed her eyes as she heard them out loud.

The look in his eyes was more hurt than anger and he closed the file his back already turned to her as he headed for the door.

"Jack," she said softly. "Wait."

He turned back, his eyes meeting hers. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean it like that. It's just. I'm fine."

"You certainly don't seem fine to me." His words were so matter of fact it was infuriating and she couldn't decide what made her angrier the fact that he was so sure of himself or the fact that he was so right about her.

"Well, lucky for you, it doesn't matter…because I'm not your problem anymore. You don't have to believe what I say because you don't have any stake in the matter. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." She turned back towards the computer, her eyes burning as she held her breath, praying he'd give up and go.

"Yeah," he said softly, "I guess you're right."


	6. Chapter 6

Phyllis walked slowly over to the door of her office, pushing it closed. She wanted nothing more than to go home, to kick off her shoes, shuck her work clothes and crawl into bed, but she couldn't. The idea of being in the house alone terrified her—the thoughts that crept into her brain when there was silence, the images—even the ones she knew were delusions—haunted her, the sounds, the voices…they all assaulted her. She needed the assurance, the knowledge that someone was with her—someone else that could see the difference between what was really there and the horrific things only her mind could see and hear.

It wouldn't be hard to explain to Billy why she'd decided to work late. She'd missed some time recently and he'd believe her when she said she needed to catch up. He'd believe anything she said actually. That's what made all of this so much worse. He trusted her, believed in her, loved her without limits or conditions, and yet she still kept this dark thing from him. She shook her head as she felt the tears begin to seep from her eyes. Billy couldn't help her with this one. This was her fight.

* * *

Jack hesitated for a moment as he stood just outside the door, his body jerking a bit as Billy looked up before he had a chance to knock.

"Jack?" he said, surprised to see his brother staring back at him. "Did you need something?"

"Actually..I…If you have a minute I'd like to talk to you about something." Jack waited outside the threshold, still unsure as to how Billy would react to the sudden offer of conversation. He saw the surprise on his face, the air of suspicion in his eyes.

"You want to talk to me?" Billy asked, his head tilted a bit. "About what?"

Jack gestured inside the office. "It alright if I come in?"

"Of course." Billy watched with interest as Jack stepped inside and pushed the door closed behind him. "Closed door," he sighed. "What did I do now?"

"It's not anything like that." Jack looked up at his brother, his eyes flashing a bit of compassion for the first time in months. No matter how he felt about the relationship, he never wanted to see Phyllis hurt and, in truth, he never wanted his brother hurt either. In his darkest moments, revenge had seemed like a desirable option, but real, honest to God, pain had never been his ultimate goal. "Honestly, Billy—if I were in here to read you the riot act, this would have been a hell of a lot easier for me."

"You've certainly had a lot of practice with that." His tone was sarcastic almost out of habit. Billy leaned back in his chair, the curt response had sounded better rolling around in his head than it had actually sounded as he heard the words. "I'm sorry," he sighed, "I shouldn't have said that."

"No. I deserved that. I've been your biggest critic—you're absolutely right and I've done but give you grief over the way things came out about you and Phyllis. I've been doing it for months."

"And what?" His brows raised as he glanced up at his brother, a small glimmer of hope flickering in his eyes, "Don't tell me you came in here to tell me you're experiencing some kind of change of heart all of sudden?"

Jack shook his head. "The truth? I don't think I'll ever get over what you and Phyllis did and I sure as hell don't think I'll ever be happy that the two of you are together, but I came in here today to talk to you because I happen to care a great deal about both of you."

"We care about you too, Jack. We've always said that…that's what has made this whole thing so damn difficult. We never wanted to hurt you."

"Just forget about me right now, Billy. I'm not the one you need to be worried about. You need to be worried about Phyllis."

* * *

"Is she okay?" Billy jumped to his feet, grabbing his jacket. "Where is she?"

"Billy. Wait. She's not.." He stepped in front of him, pushing him back towards the chair. "Relax. She's okay. She's not hurt. She's in her office."

The air left his body in a deep sigh. "What the hell, Jack?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just….I stopped by her office a little bit ago to talk to her and something isn't right."

"I was just with her this morning, Jack. She was fine."

"Maybe that's what she told you, but she's not fine. She told me she hadn't been sleeping well and…"

"I know she hasn't been sleeping well, Jack, but she's doing better now." He could feel his defenses rising.

"There's something else." Jack paused, already sensing the change in his brother. His once pleasant, welcoming demeanor now replaced with a territorial aura. "She was drinking in her office."

"And?"

"And?!" Jack huffed. "You don't think that's a bit odd."

"Come on Jack. You're gonna tell me you've never had a glass of scotch during the workday or stopped for drinks at lunch. You've never had a shot of something after a tough meeting? I sure as hell have."

"That's different. I didn't get the feeling this was about a casual drink. I think this was about coping with something…about trying to hide something. This seemed deeper and I just….I just think it's something that you might want to look into because things like this can really spiral."

Billy stood up. "That's right because you're the poster child for the addicts now, right Jack?"

"That's not what I'm saying, Billy. I'm just trying to help. I don't want to see Phyllis hurt anymore than she's already been hurt and, believe it or not, I don't want to see you hurt anymore either." Jack watched as Billy walked towards the door, pulling it open.

"I think it's time for you to go, Jack."

Jack walked to the door. "I hope I'm wrong," he said quietly before walking away.

* * *

Phyllis jerked the office door open. "Jack, I swear I…." She stopped, abruptly changing tone when she saw Billy standing there. "Hi," she said softly, leaning in to kiss him gently. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"You were expecting Jack," he said softly, brushing the hair away from her face. "Has he been bothering you?"

"You know your brother and how he gets when…." She stopped, nothing the expression on his face. "Wait…wait a minute? Did he talk to you?"

"He just.."

"Ugh…" Phyllis jerked away, her hands flying up in fury as she stepped back into the office. "You know, he is absolutely ridiculous. I told him that there was absolutely nothing going on. I had a little glass of scotch, that's all. I had a headache and I was on edge because of everything I had to catch up on. I was just trying to take the edge off." She looked up at Billy. "You know what, if I was a man, I'd be a member of the good ol' boys club, and no one would say a word about this. It's sexist, that's what it is."

She continued to rant until she glanced up. "Well, I'm glad this is amusing you? That's the most productive thing you can think of to do? Laugh at me? "

"No..No…No…I'm not laughing at you…I'm just glad to see you're feeling more like yourself today. It's been a while since I've seen the fiery Phyllis. I've missed her."

She smiled, stepping towards him. "She's here all night. Take me home and you can get better acquainted." Billy grinned as they headed out of the office together.


	7. Chapter 7

"Phyllis?"

Phyllis looked up from the computer screen, surprised to see Ravi standing in the doorway. "Ravi, Hi," she glanced over at the calendar on her second screen, "Did we have a meeting scheduled?"

"No..we didn't, but there's that big marketing meeting upstairs. I just stopped by to see if you wanted to go over the numbers quickly before we go."

"Oh, right. Yes, absolutely." She reached for the stack of papers on her desk and gestured to the chair in front of the desk. "Please, sit."

Ravi stepped in hesitantly. "Is everything alright, Phyllis?"

"Of course everything's okay. Why do you ask?" She looked up, her eyes immediately searching his face. "Did Jack say something to you?"

"Jack? No. I haven't talked to Jack."

"I'm serious Ravi. You can tell me. If he said something to you, it's fine. I just want you to tell me what he said." She stopped, taking a breath, forcing herself to calm down.

"Phyllis." He took a step back. "Jack hasn't said anything to me. No one has. I just meant you seem—a little frazzled, that's all."

"Oh." Her eyes closed for a moment, her mind reeling with the rush of her own over exaggeration and embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Ravi," she whispered. "I didn't mean to go off on you like that."

He shook his head. "It's okay, really, but I was asking out of genuine concern. If there's something I can do to help. If you need me to help you get caught up here or something."

"I can handle my job without your help," she snapped. The look in his eyes was worse than any condemning response he could have given her.

"Of course. Of course you can," he said softly. "I'm gonna go ahead and head up to the meeting. I'll see you there." He rushed from the office before she could stop him.

"Ravi," she called, quickly grabbing her files and rushing after him. "Ravi wait." The elevator doors were already closing as she approached them. "Damn it!" She darted towards the stairs, pulling the door open quickly and rushing towards the landing. Her hand trembled as she gripped the banister. She swallowed hard. Under Billy's watchful eye, she hadn't been able to take any pills this morning, but she was clearly still feeling the effects of the three she'd taken last night. Her head seemed to swim as she quickly scaled the steps.

She could see the door to the fourth floor as she clutched the banister harder and she lifted her leg, willing her body to respond. Everything seemed to spin, the entire room shifting, wavy black lines passed in front of her face and she could feel her muscles begin to collapse beneath her. The cement was hard and unforgiving as she felt her body fall against it and then everything grew still.

* * *

The conference room was full of chatter as everyone filled the coffee cups and found their seats. Jack leaned over towards Ravi, his face clearly expressing his displeasure. "Where the hell is Phyllis," he growled.

Ravi shrugged slightly. "I don't know," he whispered. "I stopped by her office on her way up and she was walking towards the elevator. I can't imagine where she could be. She looked like she was right behind me."

Jack sighed. "Well, where the hell did she go? She's the one driving this entire campaign and she's the only one of us that knows how the hell this entire internet marketing thing is structured. If she's a no show again we're all going to look like a bunch of idiots."

"You want me to go look for her?"

"No," Jack huffed, standing up and straightening his suit. "I'll go. You stay here and talk about the technology aspects of the application. Just stall. I'll be back as soon as I can—with Phyllis…or with her head on a platter."

* * *

Jack bounded out of the room, glancing towards he elevator before heading towards the stairs. He threw the stairwell door open and moved quickly down the steps. His breath caught in his throat and he quickly knelt down beside her.

"Phyllis," he breathed. "Phyllis, can you hear me?"

"Unhgh.." she groaned. She gripped the banister and struggled to sit up.

"No," Jack ordered gently, pushing her back down. "Don't move. You don't need to move until we get somebody up here to check you out."

"Jack, I'm fine," she snapped. "If you can just give me a hand here…" She moved to put weight on her foot and hissed, immediately crashing back onto the step.

"Yeah, that looks like fine to me. Would you stop and let me call someone, please?"

"Billy," she sighed. "Will you please just call Billy? He can take me to the hospital to get this checked out. I don't need an ambulance or anything like that."

Jack paused looking at her with concern. "Phyllis," he said seriously, "What happened in here?"

She blinked. "What do you mean what happened? Isn't it pretty obvious? These damn heels nearly cost me to go hurtling down an entire flight of stairs-that's what happened."

"This isn't anything to joke about." He touched her face, moving her chin towards him. "You could have really been hurt."

"I know," she breathed. "These are going straight into the donation bin when I get home. They may be cute but they're a health hazard."

"Phyllis," Jack countered, "I'm not kidding around with you." He took a deep breath. "I know you were drinking in your office yesterday and I know you said it wasn't a big deal. Now I find you sprawled out on the stairs….you're gonna tell me that's just a coincidence."

Her eyes widened. "You think this happened because I'm drunk?"

"Are you?"

"No, Jack. I haven't been drinking today. I told you what happened…exactly what happened. Now, if you don't believe me, that's your problem….and if you're not going to call Billy for me, at least have the decency to hand me my purse so I can."

Jack shook his head. "Fine," he sighed. "I'll call him and for the record, Phyllis, I hope to God you're telling me the truth."


	8. Chapter 8

"Phyllis?" His worried voice echoed throughout the empty stairwell.

"I'm okay, Billy." She looked back, seeing his face relax as his eyes fell on hers. Her hand found his instantly and she smiled as he planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Jack shifted uncomfortably as he watched them.

"Thanks for calling me," Billy said quietly, shifting a bit to allow her body to rest against him before turning his attention back to her. "What in the hell happened?"

She shook her head. "I don't know—these damn shoes," she said with an exasperated sigh. "I just told Jack they're going straight into the donation bin when I get home."

"I told you those things are a health hazard." Billy smiled at her as he allowed his lips to brush against her cheek once more.

"And you're sure that's all this was?" Jack eyed them carefully as he stood up.

Billy glanced down at Phyllis, ensuring she was okay before rising to his feet as well. "You got something you want to say, Jack?"

"I'm not trying to get in the middle of anything here," he began, "It's just…"

"Jack," Phyllis sighed, "I've already told you," She struggled to get to her feet, crying out in pain as she attempted to put weight on her foot. "Damn it!" she hissed.

"Hey." Billy leaned down, placing his arm around her waist and directing her to lean against him. He looked back at Jack, his face terse with a mix of worry and annoyance. "Maybe now isn't the best time for this conversation. I want to get her to the hospital."

"The hospital?" Phyllis shook her head. "I don't think that's necessary. I mean it's a twisted ankle. I don't really think there's much they can do at the hospital."

"It could be broken," Billy argued, "And if it is, they'll need to put you in a walking cast. At the very least they can do some x-rays to make sure."

"Billy…" She looked into his eyes, sensing her protests would get her nowhere. "You're not going to let this go are you?" she sighed, a slight smile playing on her face.

"I'm not," he said quickly. "I will do you the great favor of not calling the chopper or the ambulance and driving you myself though," he grinned.

"Thank goodness for small favors," she mumbled, as she tried to hop down the steps.

Jack stepped forward. "Why don't you let me get on the other side?"

"Forget it Jack." Billy glared at him, "I've got it. Don't you have a meeting to get back to or something?"

"Billy," Jack sighed, "I'll get back to the meeting in just a minute, but unless you're too stubborn, I'd like to help you get her down the stairs."

Billy sighed and glanced at Phyllis who shrugged slightly. "Fine."

* * *

Phyllis leaned back in the hospital bed. "Ugh…this is ridiculous," she growled. "I told you I didn't need to come to the hospital. Why don't we just go home? I'll elevate it and put a little ice on it and I'll even let you wait on me? How's that?"

Billy shook his head. "Not gonna happen. I'm not leaving until they come in here and tell me that it's just a sprain and that nothing is broken."

"I'm telling you nothing is broken though," she whined, "Don't you trust me?" She blinked at him, beckoning him over to the bed.

He leaned in to kiss her lips. "Of course I trust you," he whispered, "but I also know you are exceptionally stubborn and fiercely independent and you would do almost anything to avoid someone having to take care of you, so I'm gonna wait right here until these doctors tell me you are in tip top shape."

They both looked up at the sound of the door opening.

"Thank goodness," Phyllis sighed, "Will you please tell him," she said cheerfully as she pointed to her foot, "It's not broken is it?"

The doctor took another look at the x-ray. "No," he smiled, "it isn't, but I have to say, that's a pretty impressive sprain you've got there. You're gonna have to take it easy on that one for a while."

Billy stood up, walking over to the doctor. "That's not a problem. You just tell me what to do and I'll make sure she does it." He glanced back over at Phyllis. "She can be a bit of a problem patient." He winked at her, "but I'll keep an eye on her."

Phyllis smiled as she leaned back against the pillows. This was the first time in a while that she'd actually felt good which was surprising since her foot was absolutely throbbing. It was something about it though—about watching the man she loved so much showing her how much he loved her, not in the obvious ways, not in the grand gestures, but in the little things, the daily minutia—that was what made her so happy.

The feel of his warm hand against her face jolted her back to reality. "Where'd you go?" he asked, his voice low and sweet.

"I was just thinking about you," she said in a whisper, "and about how lucky I am to have you in my life. "The doctor say you can take me out of here now?"

Billy nodded. "Yep, he's just getting the prescription for your pain meds and we'll be on our way."

Phyllis snuggled against him. Sometimes life was good.

* * *

Billy rushed to the door, glancing over towards Phyllis who was now sleeping peacefully on the couch. His eyes narrowed as he saw Jack standing on the welcome mat. Quickly he pulled the door open, stepping outside to keep the noise from permeating the quiet room.

"It's late," he said, his tone curt. "What are you doing here?"

"I tried to call," Jack said simply, "But you didn't answer."

"Generally people take that as a sign someone isn't interested in having a conversation."

"Well, I was worried. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay—that everything turned out alright at the hospital. It would have been the decent thing to do to let me know she was alright."

"Jack," Billy sighed, "Phyllis isn't your concern anymore."

"It's not that simple. I still care about what happens to her," Jack retorted, "And to you, oddly enough. I just wanted to stop and check on her. That's all. No hidden agendas, no master plans." He paused, then continued. "So she's alright?"

"She's fine. It's just a sprain—a pretty bad one. The doctor says she needs to take it easy for a few days."

Jack huffed, "That's gonna be easier said than done with that one."

"Tell me about it," Billy smiled, then turned serious when he realized who he was speaking with. The idea of sharing stories about Phyllis was far from a comfortable subject.

"How are you gonna make that work with the business trip tomorrow?"

Billy's eyes widened. "Damn," he whispered, running his hands over his face. "I forgot all about that."

Jack nodded. "I thought you might. You've had a lot going on. That's part of why I stopped by. If you want, I'll be happy to stop by—just to check on things for you. I know Phyllis isn't my problem, but I really do care about her and I know you won't be able to focus on what you need to do if you're worrying about her. I want you to do well Billy. Honest, I do."

Billy drew in a breath, the sincerity in his brother's voice a nice change from the blistering condemnation he'd heard in the past. "You know, Jack. I'd actually really appreciate that." He extended his hand. "Thank you."

Jack took his hand, shaking it, albeit a little awkwardly. "Not a problem," he said softly. "It's the least I can do."


	9. Chapter 9

"And you'll call me, right? If you need me? You promise?" His hands rested on her shoulders as he looked into her eyes. The business trip couldn't have come at a worse time, but she assured him over and over again that she'd be fine, still he couldn't shake the nagging suspicion that she needed him here.

"Billy." Her head fell back a bit and she groaned. "I told you. I'm okay. Honestly, it's an overnight trip. It's not like you're going to be away for weeks on end. I'll take the day off and just rest. It's not a big deal."

"There's just one more thing." He considered not mentioning it, but then thought better of it. Phyllis loved surprises when they were gifts or romantic rendezvous, but somehow he wasn't sure she was going to take this quite as well. He sighed, "Jack's going to be stopping by a bit later."

"Why?" She stepped back, her eyes already narrowing in displeasure.

"He offered to stop by and just make sure you were doing okay and to be honest it would make me feel better. He's not gonna stay or anything. He'll just drop in and check on things and then he'll be on his way."

Phyllis sighed, the frustration obvious. "That's ridiculous, Billy. I don't need a babysitter."

"And you don't have one," he argued. "Jack just wants to make sure everything's going okay…especially since you're not 100%." He could see by the still perturbed look on her face that she wasn't happy. His warm hand stroked her face and his voice softened a bit, "Please," he whispered, "Do this for me…just to give me some peace of mind."

Her shoulders sank in surrender. One look in his eyes and she found herself willing to do almost anything he asked. "Alright," she said softly, leaning in to kiss his lips. "But only for you."

* * *

"Phyllis!" Jack stepped closer to the still closed door as he knocked again. He peered through the window, looking at the living room. There was no sign of her. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the spare key Billy had given him. His heart already raced as he feared what he might find inside. Suddenly the door opened and Phyllis stood, breathing hard in front of the door.

"Jack," she breathed, "Sorry, I was in the kitchen and I'm not quite as quick on my feet as I once was."

"No problem," he said softly, glancing down at her wrapped ankle. "You seem like you're getting around pretty good though."

"Yeah, it's not so bad. Oddly enough it seems to feel a bit better when I'm using it..doesn't give it a chance to get stiff." The awkwardness between them began to settle and Phyllis motioned inside. "Billy told me you'd be stopping by. Do uh…you want to come in. I was just making some tea."

It wasn't ideal. Looking into his face, into his eyes unnerved her, but being alone was perhaps more bothersome. Lately she'd found herself aware of every single noise the house made, every single shadow required investigation, every innocent sound sent a flurry of ridiculous scenarios in her mind and she was helpless to shut off the noise. She could see the hesitation from him. "It's okay," she said finally, "I won't bite."

Jack smiled. "No, I just…I didn't expect an invitation, that's all." He paused a moment, thinking, "but sure…I'd love to come in. Thank you." He walked into the living room removing his coat and placing it on the back of the chair. Following her into the kitchen, he noticed the tidy room, the quiet, the oddly tranquil environment. "I would have expected you to be knee deep in work today since you've got the whole house to yourself….no distractions."

"Yeah," she sighed, "that had been the plan but…" She stopped, allowing the words to fall off. There was no real way to explain why she hadn't been able to work—at least no way that she could share with Jack. She couldn't explain that she couldn't focus on anything except the shadows that seemed to hide in the corners, or the images of Marco that seemed burned into her brain. It wouldn't seem sane to him that she could smell the aftershave he used or that his voice echoed throughout the silences in the room.

She shook her head. "Is uh…oolong okay with you?"

Jack nodded. "Sure."

Phyllis stood, walking over to the cupboard and opening up the door. The box of tea was on a high shelf and she stretched, rising on her tiptoes and hissing at the pain. Jack stepped up behind her quickly.

"Easy," he whispered. "I'll get it."

She froze, the sound of his voice that close, the feel of his body pressed against hers, the warmth of his breath on her skin—it was too real, too familiar. It was almost involuntary. "Get off me," she hissed. "Get away from me."

"What? What's wrong?" Jack's eyes were wide with concern as he looked at her. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

It was still him. He still looked like him, still sounded like him…

"Phyllis," Jack stepped closer to her.

"Don't…Don't. Please…" Tears streamed down her face as she backed away, the look in her eyes one of terror as if keeping the distance between them was a matter of literal life and death.

His hands were up in front of him now. "Hey. Hey," he said softly, "It's okay. Whatever it is. It's okay."

She forced a breath, closing her eyes, trying desperately to remind herself of the logical, rational truth of it all. "Jack," she said softly, willing herself to believe it.

"Yeah." Before he'd been concerned, worried that something might be wrong, but now he was certain. This was far more than some drinking issue. Something was seriously wrong.

"Jack." She repeated, her voice a bit stronger but still shaky. "You need to go."

He shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea, Phyllis. I don't think you need to be alone right now."

"I'll be fine." She brought her trembling hands up to her face, wiping away the tears as she stared up at him. "What I need right now is some time alone. I need you to leave. I'm asking you to leave…now."

"Okay," he sighed, realizing she wasn't going to allow him to help her. "I'll go, but I'm going to call you later and I need you to answer the phone, okay?"

Phyllis nodded. "I will."

Jack walked quickly to the door, turning back to look at her before leaving. "If you need me," he began.

"I won't."

He sighed as she shut the door quickly behind him. His cell phone was already in his hand by the time he closed the car door and stared the ignition. Billy's voice was barely audible over the background noise.

"Hello?"

"Billy."

He felt his stomach drop immediately, the tone in his brother's voice too somber for a typical check-in type of conversation. "Jack," he said quickly, immediately rushing towards a quiet corner of the busy conference room. "What's the matter?"

"Honestly, Billy. I'm not sure, but you need to come home…and I think you need to come home now."

"Jack, are you sure you're not overreacting. I mean, I know you think something's going on with…"

"Billy, I swear to you, this isn't even about that. Something is really wrong here. She's having some kind of breakdown or something and she needs somebody. She needs somebody here that she trusts, somebody she'll talk to and that somebody isn't me. It's never been me. It's you. You're the one she needs."

He stopped, his breathing ceasing for a moment. For his brother to admit such a painful truth something was truly wrong. "Is she okay?" The question hung in the air for a moment.

"I don't know," Jack admitted as he pulled into the Jabot parking lot. "You just need to get here, Billy…and hurry."

* * *

Phyllis watched the driveway from the window, moving as quickly as she could to the door as she saw the car pull in. "Hi," she said, opening the door for the man to enter. "Thank you for handling this so quickly."

He smiled. "I'm always willing to expedite for customers that are willing to compensate," he said as he handed her the package. "You need me to show you anything about it?"

"No." Phyllis held the gun in her hand. "I've had some experience. I know my way around one of these. The only thing I need from you is discretion."

"For what you paid lady," he grinned, "I've never seen you before in my life."

Phyllis waited until she watched the young man climb back into his car and pull out of the driveway before she made her way slowly up the stairs. The gun felt light in her hand, but she knew it was the only way she'd feel safe. She had to know she could protect herself….even if….

She shook her head. Logically she knew better, but logic didn't stop the thoughts. It didn't stop the cold sweats or the shaking hands or the inability to concentrate. It didn't stop the tightness in her chest when she tried to breathe or the shadows she saw dancing across the wall. Her ankle throbbed as she finally made it to the bedroom, where she opened the nightstand and nestled the gun underneath some magazines. Her eyes fell on the bottle of pain pills Billy had given her the night before. She poured one in her hand and swallowed, the bitter taste of the uncoated tabled leaving a film down her throat.

All she wanted was to relax—to forget, to wash these horrible memories and this horrible day off of her. She stepped into the bathroom and turned the water on, running her hand beneath the stream to check the temperature. She'd take a nice, hot bath and maybe—just maybe—she would finally find some peace.


End file.
